Banquet
by ButterflyMiko
Summary: Kyo, Kisa and Kagura have been having strange apocalyptic dreams. Kyo believes the source of these dreams is the new priestess in his school. Kisa and Kagura have the same idea, and they view her as their enemy. Can Kyo protect Kuri from the Darkness and his own family in time?
1. Premonition

The Ritual is fast approaching."

Kyo Sohma looked up in the darkness.

A woman with long dark hair to her waist and a star on her forehead held out a hand to him.

Who was she? She was beautiful.

"Savior of the Zodiac."

Kyo looked at the woman. She had dark blue eyes, and her face looked so pained.

"Are you crazy?" He finally managed. "I'm the Cat. I'm not their Savior. I'm their scapegoat."

The woman rushed forward and cupped his chin in her hands. "Chaos will not rest until the Sacrifice is made."

Kyo stared at her. "Sacrifice? What Sacrifice?"

The woman lifted a large, decorative sword. "I was only born...so that I could die."

"NOOOO!" Kyo screamed, reaching out.

Xxx

Kyo woke up and tried to shake off the dream, heading to school

But he couldn't.

Who was that woman? An enemy? He...didn't want her to be an enemy. She'd looked so pained.

Bump.

"Ah?" A girl looked up at him. "I'm sorry about that. I'm new here. My name's Kuri Hikawa."

"I'm Kyo Sohma." Kyo said.

Those same eyes. He picked up her books and handed them to her.

"I was just heading to my shrine." Kuri said, and pulled out a flyer. "Harvest festival is soon. Come and see me draw down the moon."

"I...uh...yeah." Kyo reached out, and their hands touched.

"Awaken!"

Xxx

Kisa was lying in the ruins of Sohma House. It was completely destroyed and everyone was dead.

"What's happening? Where is everyone?"

She looked around.

"Oh...that's right...they were already dead..." Kisa began to cry.

"Don't be afraid, Kisa." Kagura pulled her to her feet. "We still have time. The Ritual is fast approaching. The Sacrifice must be made. It is the only way to stop this from happening and end the Curse. It is up to you and me."

Kisa covered her face, and began to cry.

Xxx

Kisa entered the Sohma dojo. She wanted to ask Kagura about the dream.

She sat down, and waited for Kagura.

"You hear it, don't you." Kagura said, sitting beside her. "The wind is rustling."

"What is it that you want from me, Kagura?" Kisa said piteously, wondering if Kagura knew her dreams.

"I just want to meditate with you." Kagura said simply.

"I-I can't." Kisa stammered and left.


	2. Awakening

Kagura was practicing in the dojo and Kisa was watching.

"She's good at karate, but she doesn't have any real friends, even though she's popular." Hiro said. "I don't think she likes people."

Kisa approached Kagura after practice. They were standing next to a painting Kisa had done called "End of the World."

"You seem to know a lot about me," Kisa said.

"You are like me after all. We share the same dream." Kagura said. "For example, How can such a nice and gentle girl like you can paint such a horrible imaginary scene?"

Kisa became angry. "It isn't imaginary! I can see it in my destiny, just like you."

"Is that what you want?" Kagura said.

"It doesn't matter. There's nothing that someone like me could do." Kisa said.

Kisa left with Hiro, and then later she heard Hiro cry out in pain from the garage.

Kisa approached him when he transformed into a monster. The monster attacked Kisa and she tried to fight it with a crowbar but it was too strong.

A gold light began to glow around her hands.

Kisa reached for Hiro through the light.

"Don't touch him!" Kagura said. "If you do, you won't be able to return to a normal life!"

Kagura entered and attacked the monster with a blast of wind, driving it back.

"Stop! That's Hiro!" Kisa pleaded.

"The Ritual is approaching," Kagura said. "If I don't do this, there will be more sacrifices. I did not choose to fight this way!"

With Kisa distracted, the monster attacked again and Kagura dove to push Kisa out of the way. The monster slashed Kagura with his claws but she used the wind to defeat it and it turned back into Hiro, who passed out.

Kagura slumped on the ground in Kisa's arms.

"We are the only ones who can do this," Kagura said weakly. "We have to end this curse once and for all. For the sake of the ones we love. I knew you could do it. You never ask favors of anyone and you're always faithful to your feelings."

"I'm not faithful," Kisa said. "I'm always running away."

"No," Kagura said. "I know you better than you do because I've always been watching you. I just didn't want you to take the same path I took."

Kisa stepped into the golden light and her animal spirit gave her strength, the strength of the Tiger to defeat the curse.


	3. Circling

Kagura climbed out of the bath and put on her school uniform. "What a lovely morning. If I don't go to meet her now, I'll be late. The sea is rough today."

Kisa finished up in the training room.

Kyo and Kuri passed her on the way to school. "That girl really shy looking." Kuri said.

"You don't know her?" said Kyo. "That's—Kisa. She's my cousin."

Kisa met up with Kagura.

"You're late." She said. "The wind is raging today."

Kuri went into the training room practiced against the training dummies.

She whirled gracefully and landed, finishing the dummy off.

"Whoa. I couldn't feel how fast I was going." Kuri said.

"Hey," Kagura said.. "Thinking like that is a quality of a true martial artist."

Kyo headed to the dojo. He bumped into Kisa, who was standing outside.

"Oh," Kyo said.. "Excuse me."

Their hands touched as they both reach to pick up her books.

Kisa looked at him. "The color of your eyes is very noble. Perhaps you were a noble in a previous life."

"A...noble..." Kyo said.

Kagura saw the two standing outside. "Let's spar sometime, Priestess." She left.

"I'm sorry," Kisa said to Allen. "That was a strange thing to say. Don't think badly of me. Goodbye." She walked away with Kagura.

_"I couldn't read her face." _Kyo thought.

"So you've made another friend," Kagura said to Kisa.

"Jealous?" asked Kisa.

Xxx

Kyo and Kuri were in the park.

Two girls walked by.

"Kyo?" Kuri said.

One of the girls doubled over, and an akuma came out from her back. Kyo gasped .

"A monster!?"

Kuri lifted her hand and drew out a large sword.

"_That's the sword from my dream,"_ Kyo thought. "_Is she...the Sacrifice?"_

Kuri brandished her Sword against the strange monster but it wasn't enough.

"Kuri be careful! The human host is still alive!" Kyo said.

"Th-That's not possible!" Kuri said.

"Seisei!" Kuri splayed out her hand and purified the akuma.

The girl fell to the ground, as the part attached to her faded away.

"It separated from a human!?" Kyo said.

"Hurry!" Kuri said.. "Call for first aid!"

Kagura and Kisa watched from a distance.

_"Someone's eyes..."_ thought Kuri. _"Is the monster still...!?"_ She turned around. _"No one's there!?"_

_"The instant when that girl changed into a monster..." _Kyo thought. "I saw...both the soul...and the monster...separate. Is this a new kind of monster?"

A faint light glowed around Kagura and Kisa.


	4. Ripples

Kuri was talking with Kyo about the new monster and its link with the Infinity Delta.

"I think you should take a look at the Infinity District; that's where I saw those two heading last night." Kuri said.

"Alright. Anything else?" Kyo asked.

"Could you take me to the amusement park tomorrow?" Kuri said.

"Sure." Kyo said. "But you have to scout the Infinity district."

Kuri rolled her eyes. "Ugh. Well they are next to each other, in case anything happens."

Xxx

The next morning, Kuri was investigating the Delta and the Infinity School.

"So this is the Infinity School," Kuri said. "I feel an aura. The power of a strong aura is pervading it."

Kuri whirled around.

_"Again..."_ Kuri thought. _"Someone's eyes...!?"_

A figure behind a tree watched them from a distance.

Xxx

Kyo was riding the roller coaster.

As he rode the roller coaster, his hat flew off into the sky.

Kyo leapt off the ride and took off toward the Infinity district.

"There you are." Kyo stopped as he found a little girl holding the hat. "What are you doing...?"

Xxxx

Kuri entered the magnificent building. "Wow..." she said. "It is private... A school with sixty floors. I don't believe it." She stopped as music filled the air.

"Such... a beautiful tone..." Kuri said.

Kyo and the little girl looked around.

"A violin?" Kyo said.

They all began walking toward the sound.

_"It's outstanding..."_ Kuri thought. _"Who is it? Who's playing?"_ She peeked from behind a bush, and saw Kisa standing, playing a violin. _"The tune is sweet... Like waves..."_

Kisa looked up at Kuri.

The others stopped walking. "It stopped."

_"That look!?"_ Kuri thought. She whipped around and saw Kagura running toward them.

"You don't know what fear is," Kisa said to Kuri. "Coming to a place like this. It's dangerous. Someday your body will die."

"You shouldn't stick your neck out," said Kagura. "You can return safely now, but if you interrupt us, I will not pardon you."

_"Her eyes were piercing,"_ Kuri thought of Kagura. _"The pupils were dark and cold. It chilled me to the bone. Could she be... An enemy!?"_ She turned a corner. _"The backside of the building!? I have to get back to the others!"_

"Oh!" Kyo said. He picked up his hat. "Great. The hat I got from Kuri." He saw a high-tech building, with a sign in front written in kanji. _"Oh, can I read that?"_ He thought. _"...research labs?"_

The little girl started coughing and doubled over.

"Kyo?" Kuri called. "Where did he go? I have to find him soon."

Kyo touched the small girl's shoulder. "Hey, are you okay?"

The girl, a young Akito, pushed him away. "I always have these fits," she said. "It'll pass in a minute. We have to leave. This area is off-limits."

Kuri came around a corner and saw them. "Kyo!? What are you doing!?" Kuri says. "Here by yourself. It's dangerous!"

"I lost the hat I got from you," said Allen. "Then this little girl... looked like she was in pain. But I guess she's fine."

_"She's all in black..."_ Kuri thought.

A black mass started to appear. Snow began to fall around them.

Kuri drew her sword, which was glowing. "The sword is reacting!?" A large monster grew out and swooped down at Kyo. _"A monster!?"_ Kuri thought. "Kyo!?" she called. "Kyo! Watch out!"

Two figures shadowed by the moonlight stood in the distance.


	5. Revelation

"Kyo!" Kuri called. She attacked the monster.

The monster exploded. A white cat landed on the ground. "A cat!? The monster took hold of the cat!?"

Akito moaned. "You...!? Who are you?"

"_Damn_!" Kuri thought.

"It doesn't matter!" said Kyo. "You okay? Weren't you hurt?"

Akito's eyes shone white. "You are the one who is hurt," she said.

"What?" Kyo said. He looked at his arm and saw blood. "Oh, you're right."

The girl held Kyo's arm.

Kuri whirled around. "Who's there!? Is the enemy still..."

A shadowed figure run off into the moonlight.

"Kuri!" Kyo called. "Look, my injury..."

_"It's gone!?"_ Kuri thought. _"That girl..."_

"When you get home, you should disinfect it," Akito said. She tied a handkerchief around Kyo's arm. "It's eerie. Since I was small... I've had this strange power."

"Kyo!" Kuri called.

"You should leave this place at once," Akito said.. "If the guards find you, you'll be in trouble."

"Thanks," Kyo said.

Xxx

"Be careful," Kuri said. She walked off. "We don't know what form the enemy could be taking!"

"Sorry... But I thought I could be friends with that girl. I liked Akito. That pure-white skin... She was pretty." Kyo said.

_"That kid..." _Kuri thought. _"She had the power to heal Kyo's injury...is she an enemy?"_

Kuri and Kyo were together now working and learned that the owner of the Infinity Distract and Moeto Research Labs is Sohma Ren—Akito's mother.

Later that night, the shadow of Chaos was sitting gazing into a pool of water at a castle and calling for the Three Talismans. At her anxious calls, Kyo's eyes open because he can sense the evil calls.

Kyo sits up in bed. _"Again. That dream... Someone is calling... for someone else to awaken... Saying for us to come? Or else... Recalling the ruin. Trying to get us?"_

Xxx

"What is it?" Kagura said.

Kisa stared at her mirror. "I was thinking of fortunetelling, and it was interrupted. The mirror got cloudy. But then it cleared up."

Kagura put her arms around her. "Kisa... What we're doing. It might be useless. Whatever we do, it could already be too late."

"We knew that when we started, Kagura. The wheels of fate have spun. The Sacrifice will come soon."

Kuri walks down the street, reading a book on the Infinity District. "Ren Sohma..."

Kias watches her. "Are you investigating the Infinity School?" she asks. "The owner, Ren Sohma, is very famous. Of course, she was expelled from the academic society..."

"Expelled?"

"There's part of the Infinity School, called the magician training school. Do you know of it? I wonder if it's because very versatile people attend it. Or else..."

A girl approaches them. "Excuse me..." she says. "Are you the violinist, Kisa-san?"

"Yeah."

"Wow! I'm a fan! Please sign this for me!"

Kisa takes the girl's signature board.

"The violinist, Kisa..." Kuri says. "Then, are you one of the versatile magicians too?"

"That's right," says Kisa. "I'm having a concert soon. I'll give you some tickets."

Kyo sees the two from a distance. _"That's... Kuri?"_ she thinks. _"Why are they... together? She's one of the people we're watching. What are they talking about? Kuri?"_ She envisions the face of the shadowed people. _"That person..."_

Kyo enters the Crown Game Center. She screams as someone yanked on his hair.

"Hey there!" Kagura says. "We meet again. Do you come here often?"

Kyo envisions the face of the soldier. _"Kagura... she looks like... that masked soldier from before."_

"Hey," he says. "Are you... a soldier?"

Kagura eyes widen. "What?" he says. "What's that? A soldier?"

"I like the sound of that," Kagura says. "A soldier. Fighting. Do you and your friends all fight together?"

"Fight together!?" Kyo says.

"Don't go near Kyo!" voices call.

Kagura turns and saw Kuri. "Hmph..."


	6. New

Later the Kyo and Kuri were fighting an monster.

As the dancer charged at Kuri and Kyo; Kyo attacked.

The monster vanished in a flash of light. "She disappeared!?"

"She said she belonged to a group called "Busters'" Kuri said.

"The Busters!? Are they the enemies!?" Kyo said.

"That! Look...!" Kuri whirled.

"Is the enemy still here!?" Kyo asked.

They turn and saw Kagura running away into the woods.

"Wait!" Kyo called. He ran after her.

"Kyo!" called Kuri.

Xxx

Kyo ran through the forest. "She's so fast! Like the wind. I can't catch up!" He stopped as he reached a clearing. "I lost her!? Oh no!"

"I figured you wouldn't catch me," Kagura said, sitting in a tree.

Kyo looked up at her. "You're..."

Kagura jumped down. "Don't disturb us. Fighting together would be dangerous."

A bright light flashed.

"Kyo!" Kuri called. She ran up, and saw Kyo sitting alone on the ground.

_"That person..."_ Kyo thought. _"It can't be... she's a member of the Zodiac!?"_

_Xxx_

"What do you mean, she was a member of the Zodiac!?" Kuri asked. "Anything else!?"

"She said... not to disturb them..." Kyo said.

"Her face?" Kuri asked. "Did you see it?"

"It was dark," said Kyo. "I couldn't see it well."

"I don't believe it." Kuri said. "Kisa knows about her! You saw!"

"We still don't know they actually are working together," said Kyo. "We should catch them, and reveal their true intentions."

Xxx

Kyo looked at a magazine as he lies in bed. "Kagura...She looked like..."

Kyo drifted off to sleep.

xxx

"Hey Kyo," Kagura said.

"Huh?" said Kyo.

"Who are you?" Kyo asked. "The soldier from before...!?"

Kagura jumped away.

"Wait! Why do you always run!? Tell me why!" Kyo asked

"The time has not yet come," Kagura said. "Our mission is to get..."

"What?" Kyo said.

"The talismans..." Kagura said.

Xxx

The voice of the woman echoed in the minds of the exorcists

_"Unless we gather the three talismans, for the god of ruin..."_

They all woke up suddenly.

_"That dream...!"_ Kyo thought.

_"The talismans!?"_ Kuri and Kyo thought.

_"An ominous dream..."_ thought Kuri. _"I feel a sense of foreboding... They must not gather the talismans!"_

_Xxx_

"Morning, Kuri," Kyo said. "You're late."

Kuri looked down. "M- Morning," she said. _"I can't even show him my face..." _she thought. She looked at posters on the wall. _"Kisa!? She's an amazing violinist. Kyo... Is he concerned about Kagura?"_

Kuri walked down the street after school. "I just want to relax." As she approaches the tea shop, she saw Kisa. "Oh!"

"Since your friends told me not to go near you," he said, "I no longer intend to come here. But, I wanted to see you."

_"Why is my heart beating so hard?"_ Kuri thought. _"It's because of that dream I had. It's weird. This person..." _

"Would you like to go hear me play?" He held out some tickets.

_"I want to know..."_ Kuri thought. _"About these people. Is that what Kyo was thinking? I want to know about this person."_

"Kuri?" Kisa said. "That's cute."

A strong wind blowed.

"Kisa!?" Kuri said. Kisa was gone. "Kisa..."

Kyo watched her from around a corner.

Xxx

"'The Infinity Commemorative Dome has finally been completed in the Infinity,'" Kyo read from the newspaper. "'It's the largest hall in the world. A hotel is also scheduled to be built in the area. It will be constructed soon in the center of the Infinity zone reclaimed from the upper city.'"

Kuri entered and greeted everyone who were discussing a concert.

"What's wrong, Yuki?" Kuri asked.

"Kuri!" said Yuki. "The Hime Yukia concert is the formal opening of the Infinity Commemorative Dome."

"Hime Yuki?"

"She's got lots of commercials and TV spots. I...wanted to go to the concert..."

"Jeez, don't be so star crazy," said Kyo. "You really like celebrities, rat boy."

"What!" Yuki said. "If we sneak into the concert, we can do scouting too. We'll kill two birds with one stone."

Kuri quietly entered the game center.

"Look at the other poster," Kuri said. "It seems the violinist Kisa is having a concert too. It's also at the Infinity Commemorative Dome."

"Why don't we go..." Kuri said.

"Huh!?" Yuki said.. "To Hime Yukia's concert!?"

"To Kisa's concert," said Kuri.

"You have tickets?"

"Yeah, someone gave them to me. I have one for everyone."

Kyo looked over at her.

"I like her violin," said Yuki. "I wonder if it'll be all right,"

"We can all see what's going on there," said Kuri.

Kyo looked down at the concert tickets in his hand.

_"I'll give you two, so you can take someone," Kagura had said._

_Xxx_

Queen Bandiane stared at the image of Kyo in the pool of water. "He finishes my monsters so easily. He's strong. The fierce power of his innocence... I want it. But the fortune of the reflecting pool before me... The three talismans that will lead to our ruin... If I can uncover their true forms... Then I can obtain and destroy them."

The image of a woman appears in the pool. "Queen Bandiane," the woman said.

"You had better not fail like the others."

"I am Yukia, the Snow Princess. With my hypnotic music, the humans will freeze into submission.

The poster for Kisa's concert appeared.

"What's this?" Bandiane asked.

"So we can gather more sacrifices for you, my Queen," Yukia said. "Using this world-famous violinist, we can lure people to the Crystal Points. And then soon, we will be ready to plunge this world!"

"Perhaps. But don't act too hastily, or you will make mistakes. No matter what, we must nurture this planet so that I may survive here. I will not forgive the Avatar! The soldiers will certainly come to stop us again. And when they do, eliminate them."

Xxx

_"I wonder how Akito's doing." _Kuri wondered.

Kuri rummaged through drawers at home. "I borrowed that handkerchief. I washed it, but she couldn't get the blood stain out..."

Kuri walked by the Crystal Point, carrying a new handkerchief. "I think it was in back of the park..." he said. She approached Akito's Mansion. The entrance gate was locked. "A gate... Maybe nobody's in there. I guess Akito isn't back yet. Oh! Akito!"

Akito looked up at her.

"Hey, I came to return your handkerchief. Thanks for before. I couldn't get the blood out of the handkerchief, so this is a new one."

"You came all the way here... just for that?" Akito said. _"Mother will still be at the Main House now..." _she thought. "Come with me," she said.

They entered Akito's place. Kuri looked around. "There's lamps everywhere," she said. "Your room's romantic."

"I like dark places," Akito said.

"Do you like your clothes dark too?" Kuri asked. "You just changed into black tights."

"From an accident long ago, I have many wounds..." Akito said.

"Hey, Akito," Kuri said. "Your home is a research lab, right? What are you researching?"

"It's 11 o'clock already," said Ren Sohma, coming in. "Hurry and finish up."

_"What?" _Kuri thought. _"That time already!?"_

Ren looked at her. "You have your friend over again." As she walked away, she tripped over a book on the ground.

"Look out!" Akito said. A pain struck her, and they both fell to the floor.

"Akito!?" said Ren. "What's wrong!?"

"Nothing... Just a little dizziness..."

"Have you been taking care of yourself? That's why it was impossible for you to finish your research on the comet. You always have been a worthless child."

"My duty was to go look at it too."

"I don't know of that duty," said Ren. "No one's looking after me either." Ren turned on the television.

"You have all the chances you want Mother." Akito said.

"Of course! I'm serious about it. Just because I was dropped once, I won't give up. I'm not like you. I don't forget my dreams!" Ren turned sharply and left.

"Mother!"

Kuri looked up. _"What should I do?"_ he thought.

A pain struck Akito and she dropped to her knees.

Akito dropped to the ground, coughing.

"Akito!?"

"It's okay, Kuri," he said. "My medicine..."

She looked at the coffee table, which was covered with packages of medicine. _"So much medicine...!"_ she thought. She took a few to Akito. "Akito!?"

She took one. "Thanks, Kuri."

_"What kind of medicine is it,"_ Kuri thought. _"Oh, if Yuki and Kyo here, they could tell what the proper measures are."_

Akito coughed, clutching a Crystal to her chest. "You should go now... Don't come near me..."

"Akito? Are you okay?"

"Akito," Kuri said. "Close your eyes. This time I'll help you."

She held her hands to Akito's chest.

"The pain is gone..." Akito said. "It's warm... Like I'm being filled with power..." She opened her eyes. "Is that your power?"

"Yeah," Kuri said. "This is my precious power. But not just for me, it can protect you too."

"Kuri, I've made mistakes." Akito admitted. "The monster that attacked your friends... I think it was probably an experimental creature escaped from my mother's research lab. My mother's eccentric. She's doing gruesome research. But please don't tell anyone. She not evil. She came to save me from that accident long ago."

"I won't say anything, I promise," Kuri said. "It's our secret."

She watched as Akito lay down on the couch and fell asleep. He saw a picture on the wall. _"That's pretty_," she thought. "_The moment the sun rises."_

Akito opened her eyes. "Kuri? You stayed with me until I woke up?"

"I'm your friend." Kuri said.. "I'm on your side."

They looked out the window.

"The snow has stopped," Akito said.. "It's already dawn. Look at that, a beautiful Earth morning. Kuri, the view of dawn from the sky is amazing. Much more than this. It's beautiful. I want to show it to you, too, Kuri. It would be nice if we could see it together." Akito yawned. "We are friends. When I'm with you, I feel at ease. It seems like you understand everything."

She got into bed and closed her eyes.

"Goodnight. My friend." Akito said.

Xxx

"Kyo," Kagura said.

"Yes!" she said.

"Huh!?" said Kuri. "Kagura!? Kyo!?"

"Hey!" Kagura said. "You're all here too!"

"Kagura...!" Yuki said.

"Hey."

"You didn't tell me you were coming to the concert with Kagura." Kuri said.

"Kagura invited me... I would have asked you, Kuri, but you said you had tickets." Kyo said.

Kuri grimaced. _"'Kagura!"_ she thought.

"What's the matter with you?" asked Kyo.

"Never mind!"

"It's starting," said Yuki.

They took their seats as Kis played her violin on-stage.

_"Whirling currents..."_ Kuri thought. _"Washing away my troubles... It's like I'm actually near the sea."_

"Her performance is breathtaking."

"I hear her violin is a five hundred million yen Stradivari named after the temple of the sea, the Marine Cathedral."

"Kagura..." Kuri thought. "She's standing over in the corner..."

Xxx

Yuki peeked around a corner at the Hime Yukia concert. "I followed Kuri so I could get over here, but now I have to get inside."

She was dressed in Infinity clothes.

"Thank you!" Yuki called from the stage. "Today I'm singing for everyone at my favorite school! I'm so happy! I love Infinity, and all of you. I'll do anything for the school. I will even sacrifice my body. Will you?"

The crowd cheered.

"Then close your eyes, and relax. Listen quietly to the music I've made for you."

_"What!?"_ Yuki thought. _"I'm suddenly sleepy. My body won't move..."_

"Devote your mind, body, and soul to me, and our master Pharaoh 90."

Yuki struggled to move. "Hime Yuki... is an enemy!"

A man ran up to him. "Where are you going!?"

"Err... To the bathroom..."

"You're not supposed to leave your seat during the concert!"

Yuki kicked him away. He ran into the concert hall. "Your lovely image and melodious voice are the embodiment of an ugly evil! Everyone! Don't be fooled!"

Kisa and Kagura's heads jerked up. The curtain was lowered before the stage. "What!? What's happening!? Is it over already?"

"Kagura left!" said Kuri. "She looked odd."

Yuki ran in.

"Kuri!"

"Yuki!?"

"The idol Hime Yukia is an enemy! Come here!"

"Everyone!" Yuki called. "Wake up! If I act now, there should still be time!" As the people in the crowd came to their senses, Yuki switched off the lights. "Get out of here! Hurry!" Yuki and Yukia battled.

"Damn!" Yukia said. "Queen Bandiane! Send me power with the help of an monster!"

"Miserable wretch..." Queen Bandiane muttered. "The valuable eggs have been planted in the vessels. Hmph. Regrettable, but I will call on the failed spirits. Awaken! monster Power! My Snow monster!" Three students collapsed as monsters erupted from them.

"Devour them, Snow monster!" Yukia called.

Kyo and Yuki defeated two. The remaining one charged at Kuri

The snow monster loomed over her. Wind hit it. The snow monster exploded.

"Damnit!" Yukia said.

There was a second blast of wind.

Yukia vanished in a flash of light.

Everyone turned to look at the two girls.

"Who are you!?" Kyo said.

"I am the Year of the Boar," said Kagura.

"And I am the Year of the Tiger," said Kisa.


	7. Cat Spirit

"Kisa!? Kagura!?"

"No way!" Kuri says. "Zodiac!? I didn't know."

"There was no reason for you to know," says Kisa

"I can't get any sense from those two...!" Yuki thinks.

Kyo looks at the mirror Kagura is holding. "This is called a talisman." "That hand mirror!" he says. "A talisman!"

"Talisman!?" the others think.

"We meet again, Kyo," says Kagura.

"Kagura!" he thinks.

"The hand mirror is a talisman!?" Kuri says. "In my ominous dream, someone said to gather the talismans. So you... Who on earth are you!?"

"A dream?" Kisa says. "So, you sense it too. The dreadful premonition. The crisis of ruin."

"If you know something, tell us!" Kuri says. "What's going to happen from now on!?"

"Make no mistake. We have no intention of fighting together with you." Kisa said.

"Then you're not... allies?" Kyo asks.

"I don't remember saying we were allies." Kisa said.

"Wait!" Haru says. "Are you chasing after the Death Busters too!? What do they want!?"

"We've never spoken," Kagura says. She begins to play her violin.

"Kagura!?" Kyo thinks. Music fills the air.

"My head is splitting..." Haru says.

"These two soldiers carry talismans..." thinks Yuki. "Oh no...! Could these two bring about our ruin!?"

"Wait!" Kyo calls. "Are you going to lead us to ruin!? Answer me!"

They were all knocked to the ground by Firebending.

"The sailor soldiers..." Kuri thinks. "Attacked us...!?"

Xxx

"I don't know if I should talk about them," Kyo says. "Originally, those spirits weren't supposed to be here. Like us, they have a different duty and jurisdiction. They're supposed to be far away. We weren't supposed to run into them."

"More spirits besides us...!?" Kuri thinks.

"They're said to defend the Chinese Zodiac from a distance. They are spirits of legend, veiled in mystery. But it seems that they really exist. I don't believe it. They've been reincarnated, and they've appeared. There must be some state of emergency..."

"State of emergency..." Yuki says. "The invasion? Or is it something else...!?"

"If that's true... Why did they attack us?"

"They aren't enemies!" Kuri says. "They're allies!"

"You have no reason to say that," says Haru. "They attacked us. Just like enemies do."

"That's some greeting," says Yuki.

"For whatever reason," Haru says, "they made it clear they're not allies. If they come to attack us again, we'll have to fight them."

Kyo lies in bed. Kuri was asleep next to him. He holds Kuri's hand. "What do those two want!?" he thinks. He sees a ruined city around him. A wave of water looms overhead.

"A tidal wave!? What happened here!?" A shadowed figure stands atop a devastated pillar. "Who are you?" Kyo says. "Are you the god of ruin?"

Kyo and Kuri open their eyes. "A dream!?"

"Kyo..." Kuri says. "Did we just have the same dream!?"

"That dream..." Kyo says. "The god of ruin..."

Xxx

Yuki sits in meditation. "The mirror Kagura carries is a talisman...!" she thinks. "The three talismans that will cause the ruin. Then where are the other two?"

Xxx

Kuri sits in the park. "Kyo's late," she says. "Looks like rain. Bad weather. Since then I haven't seen them. Sailor Kuri and Kisa..." Two hands cover her eyes. She turns around. "Kyo?" She sees Kisa behind her.

"I was taking a detour from my route home," she says. "You drew me here." She turns and runs away in a gust of wind.

"Wait!" Kuri calls. "Kisa!" He stops. "Are you our ally? Another spirit like the Avatar? Why won't you tell us anything?"

"I wanted to meet you while you knew nothing," Kisa says. "Kuri..."

"Kisa-san..."

She holds her face.

"Kuri!" Kyo says.

"The Cat appears," says Kisa. He ran away..

"Kuri," Kyo says. He holds her. "What's happened? Did he do anything to you?" (he's jealous and protective)

"No... It's not that. It's not that..." She rests her head on Kyo's chest, her eyes watering. "Why am I crying..." she thinks. "It's hard..."

Kyo hugs her.

Xxx

Yuki has to make something out of clay, something important, and give it to someone she cares for. She shows the others what she is doing, and they ask if it's a coffee cup.

"No!" Yuki says. "It's the chalice."

"chalice? What's that?" Kuri said.

"That's the name of a legendary object that is supposed to be the secret to the Zodiac's reincarnation," Yuki says. "When a crisis calls for it, wondrous power flows from the chalice. It gives power to the Spirit World, and saves the people."

"I only asked Haru a little," says Kuri. "We'll get Kyo to help us."

Xxx

"Want some coffee?" Kyo asks.

"Sure," says Kuri.

They drink their coffee in silence.

"I wonder what Kyo's thinking about," Kuri thinks. "Is he mad about me and Kisa being together...? But I couldn't help it. Kisa as the enemy again..."

"Kyo!" she says. "Umm. I..."

"Hey!" Yuki calls as she bursts into the room. "I was going to meet you at the door, but you're already here!"

Kuri and Kyo are silent.

"Have you been fighting?" Yuki asks.

"N- No!" Kuri says.

"Kyo looks angry, Kuri.", Yuki remarks.

"Huh?"

"What did you do, cheat on him?"

"Cheat on him..." Kuri thinks. "Is that what he's thinking? That I cheated on him..."

"Yuki," Kyo says. "What did you come here for?"

"Well, I wanted you to help me with my project."

Yuki pulls on Kuri. "Don't go. You need to help me too. 'Kay?" She unwraps her cup-shaped piece of clay on the table.

"What are you trying to make with the clay!?"

"The holy chalice."

"Holy chalice?" Kyo says. "The monks told me about that. How are you going to make that, from this..."

"We'll need lots of supplies! Go to the store, Kuri."

Kuri leaves the store grumbling. "So why did it have to be me...?"

She enters Kyo's apartment. "I'm back! I brought some ice cream too."

She smiles as she sees Kyo working with Yuki on the clay.

"Wow! Yuki! Look, look! It's great!"

"Yep, we finally finished it," says Kyo.

"Yuki..."

They see her asleep on the floor. They smile.

Kuri puts her arms around Kyo. "Kyo... I'm sorry. For being like that with Kisa..."

"I believe you, Kuri."

"When you were together with Kuri, I got really jealous. It was stupid."

"I was full of jealousy too," Kyo says. "Jealous of that guy. But I'm sure there was a reason for it. He always looks at you in that way. I think those two have hard circumstances."

"Yeah," says Kuri. "Yeah, I guess, Kyo."

"Kisa's painful sorrow spread..." she thinks. "I'm crying for no reason."

Kyo holds her. "We don't need to wake Yuki up. If you want to stay here, that's okay." He holds her and kisses her.

Yuki peeks out from under her blanket. "Looks like they've made up." She had been pretending to be asleep so as to give Kyo and Kuri a chance to talk and clear things up.

Xxx

Yuki, Kuri and Haru are talking. It's been raining a lot that spring and it is depressing Kuri. Midterm scholarship tests are coming up and Kuri moaned that THEY are what is depressing. Kuri, though, has received excellent marks again, first place! She urges Kuri to join her to go to the Mugen Academy and prepare for the exams. There is a ranking book Haru shows them and it says that one person is above Kuri, a woman named Bidou Yui. Kuri says she shall go visit the girl.

When she goes to visit the school, Bidou Yui is condescending but urges Kuri to join. When she returns to her friends, Haru warns her that it might be an enemy trap. Kuri insists she won't be caught that easily and assures Haru that if anything happens, she will contact her. Kuri leaves to return to the Mugen Academy.

"Bad rain clouds..." Kuri thinks. "Like they're coming out from this building." She enters the Infinity building.

"You're the visiting student, Kuri, right? Junior high is on the 13th floor. Please go to the 9th grade science class."

Kuri goes into the science room, where Yui is waiting. She stands next to a glass case with a black swirl of matter inside.

"You're here," Yui says. "Kuri."

"What's that?"

"Isn't it pretty? This is a miniature replica of the cosmos. I made it for a science experiment. It's the Black Dream Hole. Hikawa-san?"

"I feel like I'm being sucked in..." Kuri thinks.

Kuri looks at the case. "I wonder if that's a hologram," she thinks. "This black hole... I've never heard of it." Yui leaves to go do something while a camera mounted on the ceiling focuses on Kata.

Queen Bandiane looks at the image of Kuri in the pool of water. "I feel extraordinary power coming from the surface of the water," she says. "That power... Could it be... A carrier of a spirit's protection? Another spirit!? She came by herself."

"Queen. I am the leader of the science class, Bidou Yui. Leave it to me, Water Warrior. It was clear from the beginning that the Snow Princess and the Fire Dancer would fail. By my system, the Water Warrior, I will obtain the souls of the Chinese Zodiac. The master will certainly be pleased."

"The souls of the Spirit World..." says Queen Bandiane. "It must have such strong energy." She gasps as the image in the pool vanishes.

The camera lens is shattered as Kuri throws a pen into it. She runs out into the hallway. A sign by a stairway reads, "Underground Laboratory. No entry." Kuri rushes down the stairs.

"Kisa!" Kagura calls, as she sees Kuri running.

Kuri opens the door that reads, "No entry." Eyes shine in cages all around the room. "An animal research lab!?" she says. "Another door!?" She reads the sign on the second door. "Danger!?" She looks through the window on the door. "I don't believe it! Those are... the monsters that attacked us!? Then this must be the enemies'..."

A hand grabs her shoulder. "Going to class, Kuri-san?" Yui asks.

"Oh no!"

Other students surround her. "In this class, I will take your soul. We'll start the utilization."

"What!?" Kuri thinks. "What's she talking about!?"

"We're also interested in that utilization," Kisa says.

"Kisa!? Kagura!?"

"Seize them!" Yui says to the students. "Take all three of them to my class!" They're dragged upstairs to the science classroom. "The operation has just begun!" Yui says. "The nanorobots in my program will go forth from human bodies into their souls. Through my system, I will sacrifice the souls to our master Queen Bandiane! I will sacrifice the empty bodies as vessels to our compatriots! It will be glorious!"

Kuri knocks the students around her away.

"You fool!" Yui says. "This is the 13th floor!"

Kuri jumped and lands in the swimming pool outside.

Kisa and Kagura jump out after her.

"Don't let them escape!" Yui says. "Go after them!"

"What's the big commotion!?" Queen Bandiane says. "Don't let the valuable vessels escape!" she says. "The spirits are together! Get them!"

Kisa and Kagura hide in a tree.

"We can't stay in the Mugenzu anymore," Kisa says.

"You're right," says Kagura.

Yui jumps to the ground. "Where are they!? Find them!"

"You're doing needless things!" Kuri says.

"A priestess is no match for a water warrior!" Yui snapped and the two began to fight.

Kuri gasps. "My body's..."

"Heh heh. Does it hurt? The nanomachines extracted from my program cut into your body and dissolve it! All that will be left is the soul of your beautiful spirit!"

"My body won't move...!" Kuri thinks. "No..."

"Now, to our master!" Yui says. "Sacrifice the strong, beautiful spirit!"

"Kuri!" Kyo calls. Haru and Yuki followed.

Kyo stops as he sees two figures before her. "Kisa!? Kagura!?"

Kisa lifted her sword. "My talisman!"

He used it to defeat Yui.

Kuri falls to the ground.

"Kuri!" Kyo ran over.

"Kisa's sword!?" Kuri thinks. "Is that... the second talisman!?"

Kisa and Kagura ran away in a blaze of heat.

"Wait!" Kuri calls. "Kisa! Kagura! They came to save us...?"


	8. Hoshi

As this battle ends, Yuki stops by to meet Haru. It is here that they meet a woman with pale skin and long dark hair. She introduces herself as a freshman in science, who studies basic physics, with a major in theoretical physics. She is Rin. Haru comments on how the room is filled with plants and that Yuki should love it here. As they leave Rin, they comment:

"So, isn't she pretty?" says Haru. "Rin must be the prettiest at this school."

"Yeah, really," says Yuki. "She carries herself with the grace of an adult. She's intellectual and beautiful. Er, um... So what kind of research is she helping with?"

"I think that professor studies anti-gravity in China. She said that there's something strange about the space in the Delta area. They're investigating the surroundings very deeply."

" Look, there's all those weird black clouds... It's a little scary. Those are definitely rain clouds. This place has strange weather. The rainy season hasn't ended at all." Yuki says.

xxx

On the other side of town:

A dog in a glass chamber transforms into a large monster in a flash of light.

"It mutated into a failed spirit again," Ren said.

They go to the fountain in the pool of water outside the old stone castle. They kneel before it. The statue glows. "Ohh..." Queen Bandiane says. "I am waiting for the light of the source of life, the Crystal Points. Gather more and more souls of the humans. We still do not have enough."

"I apologize, Queen Bandiane," says Ren. "We will surely bring many souls here."

"There is only one method to take action in this world now," Queen Bandiane says. "I take it you are progressing with the utilization."

"We are attempting the utilization by planting eggs in the human bodies that souls have been taken from," says Ren. "The outsiders are interrupting us. In the experiments, 90 percent become atavistic. The time to make them complete like us is not yet... Then the complete ones will bring the ruin of the outsiders, the sailor soldiers."

"Take care of the outsider sailor soldiers that carry the protection of planets at once!" Queen Bandiane says. "Eliminate them! I will recover all my power. We must be patient until the utilization is performed. This land will be our second mother planet. Nothing must stop us!"

"Certainly!" says Ren. "The carriers of the lights of the innocence's protection, the exorcists! I will eliminate them at once!"

"Lenalee and Kanda..." says Queen Bandiane. "They destroyed the spirits in an instant. What is that strong brightness called? Is that their soul!? The souls of the normal humans are no match for it. That power... It's brilliance is like that of our source of life, the Crystal Points. But, the ominous light that will guide us to ruin could be near it. In the light of the planets' protection... The time of awakening is near."

"The light that will guide us to ruin..." thinks Ren. "Could that be the three talismans, in the light of the planets' protection!?"

"Take Lenalee's brilliance, the infinite power, immediately!" says Queen Bandiane. "For our revival! Eliminate our impending ruin! By our hand, the exorcists and the humans of this world will be led to ruin!"

Ren leave.

"Since the outsiders have appeared," says Ren, "the master has seemed cheerful."

Xxx

Queen Bandiane goes to the pool of water. "So selfish, knowing nothing of the trouble I go to..." she thinks. "Now I'm supposed to find the secret of the sailor soldiers' power, and the true form of the guiding talismans. The sailor soldiers... Troublesome fools..."

A woman appears behind her. "Queen Bandiane," she says. "We must obtain lots of souls."

"I am the instructor of the phys. ed. class at the school," the woman says. "I am also in charge of the botanical garden. I can't stand leaving things half done like Viluy did. I am Terra, level 404, and I will obtain the highest quality souls. At the master's request, the souls of the sailor soldiers. Then I will bring the power for the Crystal Points!"

Xxx

Two girls walk between classes at the Labs. They see Kuri. "That's the student, Akito," says one girl. "She's carrying her bag. Is she leaving early again?"

"Is she weak-bodied?" says the other. "She's been wearing those long tights all year."

"She's such a dark person. She always has a vacant face. It's well-known that she's a bit strange."

"Naturally. Her mother's a mad scientist. Doesn't she have any friends?"

Lenalee drops to the ground coughing. She reaches for a pen case. One of the girls steps on it.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Akito. You worn out? Need some help?"

Akito picks up the case.

"Akito?"

Akito glares at them. She crushes the case in her hand. The girls gasp. "Wh-What!? She crushed the pen case!?" Akito walks away. "She looked at us so angrily... Like she was another person!?"

Xxx

Kuri stares out the window. Rain pours outside.

Kyo slaps her on the back. "What's the matter, Kuri? You look like you're lovesick."

"That's not it.. I want to meet Kagura and Kisa. Let's look for where they live! I want to see them, and talk to them. They're the same exorcists, but why do they keep fighting us? It can't continue! I want to go ask them!"

The school bell rings.

"Let's go," says Kyo. "We have work to do."

"You two..." Kuri says. "You're so cold!"

"What's wrong Kuri?"

"We should do what we can right away," says Yuki.

Xxx

We follow Yuki home and learn that Sasanquas are his favorite flowers. He tells his friend that she has lots of plants in her house but that lately they haven't healthy. She blames it on the strange weather, how it's suddenly hot then cold.

Her friend tells her of a new plant that grow and soak in water from the atmosphere. The infinity school sells them...Yuki thinks about the plant...it is called Tellurian.

Later at the command center, Yuki, Kyo and Kuri are discussing how the enemies are from the Infinity School and that they must prevent them from spreading out into the city, seeping in undetected. Allen and Kuri discuss the Delta Area which seems to have abnormal energy coming from it, in particular the Infinity zone.

Yuki studies up on Ren, Akito's mother.

"Specialty is genetic engineering," Yuki reads. "Owner of the Infinity School. Resides at the Sohma Research Labs. Hey, he has a daughter, Akito. He... saved Akito before. That kid is Akito?"

They leave the command center. They pass a flower shop.

"Hey, wait," says Yuki. "This is it. The plants that grow without water, tellurians. Are they being sold from the Infinity School?" "Oh, we're selling lots of those now," says the clerk. "They're easy. You don't have to give them any water at all. In a week, they'll turn into a beautiful pink, and smell great." Yuki buys one of them "I'm a little worried," says Yuki. "I've never seen this kind of plant before."

Xxx

"This medicine is digitalis," said. "It's a diuretic that increases the flow of blood. This is verapamil. It's heart medicine. I wonder if she has a heart disease."

_"A heart disease..." th_ought Kuri_. "Her heart is ill!? Akito._.."

Xxx

Kuri approached Kuri's front door.

"What business do you have here?" asks Ren. "Trespasser."

"She's my guest, Mama!" Aktio said.

"Akito!" says Kuri.

Ren walks away. "Odd," she thinks. "She has a guest."

"What is it?" Akito says. "What have you come to see me together for?"

"Hey!" says Kuri. "I thought I'd check on you."

"I feel like I'm being drawn in," thinks Akito. "To her deep blue eyes... Like they know everything..."

Akito drops to her knees, coughing.

"Akito-chan!?" Kuri says.

"I'm having more fits," Akito thinks. "Someone's voice is calling inside my head... Today I fainted like this at school. My memory after that..."

Akito reaches out for Kuri's chest. "Ahh... When I touch you Kuri, I start to feel better. It fills me with power."

"Really? Akito-chan?"

Akito covers her mouth. "What!?" she thinks. "That-!? Now I wanted to take his power for myself... Why!? Now... It was like somebody inside me... was talking..."

Ren stands behind the door to the room. "Kuri is here?"

Kuri looks out the window.

"What are you looking for?" Ren asks.

"Oh! I-! Err-! Ho- Ho- Akito-chan's room. I got lost looking for it."

"Ah, you're Akito-chan's friend." He takes Kuri to her room. "Akito."

"Mother!"

"It's time for your checkup."

"Oh, well then I'll be leaving," says Kuri.

"Bye-bye!" Akito says. "See you later!"

"That's Professor Ren," thinks Kuri. "Her hands were hard, and cold as ice. Not like human hands..."

As he walked home, Kuri saw a woman with pale skin and long dark hair in the crowd. "That's...!"

"She's gone! It couldn't be... It couldn't be... She was walking right here..."

Xxx

"Hey, it's snowing again. It'll be cold tonight too. Definitely." Yuki said.

A spirit floated outside. "Heh heh... That's right. Being alone is bad."

"Why don't we all throw a Christmas party?" said Yuki. "It'll be fun."

"Really!?" said Kyo. "Hey! Every year for Christmas we pick a star!"

"A star?" The four chorused.

"Right. Then at the party, everyone gives the star what they most want as a present." Kyo said.

Xxx

"Kyo," said Kazuma. "This year, the Christmas star is you. Now, open your eyes. Here's your present from everyone."

Kyo saw a small item—a little ball—in a basket.

"Wow!" Kyo said.. "How did you know what I wanted? Master, thank you!"

Xxx

"That was fun," Kyo said. "Everyone did it at the Christmas party. I wonder who the star should be this year. Master..."

Xxx

Kuri enters Yuki's apartment. "Wow! Yuki-kun, it's been such a long time. Everything's green again."

"But they're not doing very well, since it's raining so much. It's on the card. 'Tellurian.' Plant breeding by Teruno Ruru, Infinity School." Yuki yawns. "I'm so sleepy..."

"Yeah, I'm so tired..." They drift off to sleep.

"Yuki-kun!" Kuri calls.

"Huh...?" Yuki sits up. "I feel weak..."

"Yuki-chan! Look at this!"

"What!? The tellurian has already bloomed!? No way!"

"Yuki-kun! The plants over there!"

"They've all withered!?"

Yuki takes a butcher knife and cuts through the tellurian. Gases fill the air.

Xxx

Kuri looks at the map on the wall. "Hmph. The Delta. Three pieces of land are linked together."

"Kuri!?" Yuki calls.

"Yuki-kun! Everyone! What's wrong? Where are you going?"

"The Infinity School botanical garden! The enemies!"

Kuri sees Kagura and Kisa walking. "Kagura! Kisa!?" They look back, then run off. "Wait!"

"Why did they run away?" Kuri thinks. "Kagura! Don't you want to meet us!?"

Xxx

They walk to the condominium tower. "The tallest building in the Order. They live so close, in Minato Ward." Kuri goes to Kagura's room. "Kagura?" she says. "You're like us, but why can't you fight together with us?"

Kagura leans against the door inside, listening.

"Why won't you tell us anything?"

"Now what we must do," Kuri says, "is hold off the spread of the enemies' influence. Right?"

"The Infinity Delta," says Kyo. "The winds are always strong here. When I come here, my body burns."

"Something is unusual," says Yuki. "Ghastly. It's much stronger than before."

They enter the Infinity botanical garden.

"It's just like a jungle," says Kyo.

"Look!" says Yuki.

"The people are collapsing! There's pink flowers all over. This sweet scent of poison... The tellurians!?"

"I'm losing strength!"

"Heh heh heh... The highest quality life energy."

"You!?" Kyo says.

"Carriers of the spirits," Tellu says. "The Zodiac themselves. How lucky that you've come here. Heh heh. The tellurians are the alter self of me, Tellu. I soak up life energy with my beautifully crafted flowers. The mass of humans' life energy, their souls, absorbed. If I offer the flowers, the master will be pleased, and I will be granted the holy power, like Ren!"

Rin lies on the floor. A tellurian is nearby, soaking her energy.

Kagura's head jerks up. Kisa looks around from her apartment. "Somebody's in pain..."

"Who?" they think. "Someone very close to us... Our ally!?"

"It hurts..." Rin thinks. "My strength is fading rapidly... Somebody... Save me... Am I going to die here!? No. I can't die yet. I was born here. The meaning... I was reborn. Meaning...Awaken!"

The sign of the spirit of the horse appears on her forehead. The signs of the spirits of the boar and tiger appeared on Kagura and Kisa's foreheads. Kagura and Kisa appear in the room with Rin. "The time has come!"

Leaves blow in the wind around Kuri. "What!? This-!? Now, something, somewhere, has awakened!?"

"Everyone!" Kyo calls. "We have to fight."

"You've shown your true selves!" Tellu says. "The Zodiac, those who protect the Priestess. I am Tellu, and I will take your souls, and the power for the Crystal points! I will tear your bodies into pieces and use them as fertilizer!"

She used her power against them.

Yuki defeated with his power

Tellu falls back.

Kyo fought back with his power.

"Heh heh!" Tellu says. "That's the highest quality power! Why such a pathetic attack?"

"What!?" Kuri thinks. "I can't hesitate. Bring out all my power. I must defeat the enemy before me. But... Kagura, Kisa!"

Rin appeared and fought and Tellu is enveloped in light, and is torn apart.

The soldiers, Kuri, and Allen gasp.

"That low voice..." Kuri thinks. "That attack..."

They turn and see Rin holding a spear, standing

with Kagura and Kisa.


	9. Into the Snow

"Rin!" Kuri calls. She runs to her and wraps her arms around her. "Rin! Is it really you!? Rin!?"

"Kuri," Rin says. "No, Priestess. I have come for my important mission."

"Important mission?"

_"What is it..."_ Kuri thinks. _"She's not like the Rin of before. Stronger. Bigger."_

"Kagura!? Kisa?!"

Kyo recognized them and fell to his knees. The others followed suit.

"Greetings," he says. "I haven't seen something like this in many generations."

"I am the Year of the Boar."

"I am the Year of the Tiger."

"I am the Year of the Horse."

"We are the three warriors of the Otherworld!"

"Year of the Cat," Rin says to Kyo. "We will do whatever is necessary to make reparations for our rudeness. Forgive us, so we can protect this world. Since ancient times, we fought as spirits against invaders. We defended the Otherworld from a distance. You and the Otherworld have been resurrected again in this world. And we, too. Like you, it was promised we would be reincarnated. We have newly awakened on this planet. But it seems we are too late. Our full awakening came in the time of crisis. They are already invading. Deeply, quietly, they built their fortress. We've let these invading enemies slip through. It's our mistake."

"This woman who calls herself Queen Bandiane..." Kuri says. "Where did she come from?"

"Queen Bandiane?" says Kagura. "Is that what she's calling herself? She was once a spirit like we are, protecting this world. She consumed part of Kyo's spirit, making her immortal. She has taken part of his soul"

"The Bandiane comet," says Kuri. "That's what she said... Is that where they're from?"

"Yes," says Rin. "She was banished by the Zodiac long ago, but she has returned. This land sparkles with a great power. The area of the Order is veiled in the great aura of a hidden power. She's probably been drawn to it."

"Intentionally... Accidentally..." Kisa says. "A twist in the time and space here is occurring. They could be coming from it. And, unless we defeat this being, this world will be cornered into ruin."

"This being?" Kyo asks.

"The one we are supposed to defeat," says Kisa. "The biggest enemy. We almost had them. Until somebody interrupted us by barging in."

"Kisa!" Kagura says. "We're sorry for dragging you into this."

"But! You're like us!" says Kyo. "Right?"

"But these enemies, against this false Queen," says Kagura. "We must face against them. Interference is useless."

"We'll help you!" says Kuri.

"Don't," says Kisa.

"What?"

"It's too much for you," says Kagura.

"But! We've been fighting until now!" says Kyo. "We're fighting too!"

"Until now it's been different! The form the akuma are taking, and the way they're invading, is a complete mystery. So defeating the biggest enemy is something you can't do. This is our jurisdiction."

"But...!" Kyo says. "We can't even help you?"

"Kyo," Kagura says. "Don't waste our time. The mission must be accomplished smoothly."

"Come on, you can't be serious," says Kuri.

"We had to leave the school because our cover was blown!" says Kisa. "The enemies might come looking for us! Is that the kind of danger you want to face!? We live in those condominiums, to keep an eye on the school. We will not fail. We will take out the being."

Kyo stares at him.

"Don't look like that, Cat," he says. "We didn't want to confuse you."

"We three have special powers you don't have. We've been awarded stronger powers and stronger items. Leave things to us." Rin said.

"Wait," says Yuki. "What kind of thing is this biggest enemy? Is it that powerful an enemy?"

"Yuki." Rin said.

"The stronger items you carry," Yuki says. "Are they the three talismans that will lead to ruin?"

"The ominous oracle..." says Kuri. "If the talismans must not be gathered... The talismans you use as weapons... What are they!? Your mission..."

"The talismans we carry, and our biggest mission, are to bury the biggest enemy. The god of ruin." Kagura admitted.

"The god of ruin!?" Kyo said in shock.

xxx

Later: Yuki reads the newspaper in the kitchen.

"'Members of the Black Order have gone missing. They are looking for the responsible party. Dead bodies were found in the botanical garden. The garden has been closed, and the land development has been stopped.'"

_"What next?" She_ thinks. _"The akuma. And Kagura, Kisa, and Rin. What do they want to do? The god of ruin. What could its true form be!?"_

"So the mad scientist is causing an uproar again," says Yuki

"Yuki, do you know him?" Kyo asks.

"He was a world-famous scholar of genetic engineering. Seven, eight years ago. But he was probably too quick to announce his research, and he was banished by the scientific community."

Kyo sat reading.

"Wherever I searched," he says, "there was no data on Professor Ren past. Finally I found something."

"Life's work: 'Superhuman'?" Kuri said.

"He continually repeated his genetic experiments on animals, and was outcast by the scientific community. He put his experimental know-how out for sale, and it was bought up by the Infinity district. Two years later, there was a fire while the buildings were under construction. Daughter Akito (8) Critical condition.

"After that, all life vanished from the professor's face."

xxx

"Ohh..." says Queen Bandiane. "The source of life, the Snow Crystal, is losing strength. We must get it quickly... We will eat up the tiny souls of the humans soon. For my revival, take the infinite power similar to that of the Snow Crystal! The lights of protection should be gathered. Our ruin will be eliminated! We've finally found the land of peace. We won't give it up to anyone!"

Queen Bandiane walks to the pool of water. "The lights are rapidly gathering in this land. They're being drawn to the land's aura. Something is going to happen. The lights of the protection of three new spirits... This does not bode well. These lights are stronger than the others. Are these the carriers of the three talismans!? Is it too late to stop the path to ruin!? My reflecting pool is always clouded. The sailor soldiers are sending out a strong vortex from the innocence lights! Or else, is the cloudiness the fault of the increasing abnormal aura power in this land? This sacred land has seized the Black Orders abnormal aura, and the strong lights of the innocence protection. We can't escape..."

Pofessor Moeto walks in as Bandiane orders the last of the Witches, Cyprine, to do away with Kyo.

Xxx

"Hey, Kyo," Yuki says, holding the chalice. "This is pretty. What is it?"

"Oh, Yuki! That's the legendary holy chalice. I made it with Kuri! Say, Yuki, do you know about the holy chalice? During a sacred ceremony, it's a special cup you use to drink the wine and holy water."

"You've been working hard, like a soldier," says Yuki.

xxx

"Kisa," Rin calls. "The movie's starting!"

_"Kagura hasn't come," _thinks Kisa. _"I've already waited nearly an hour. What's wrong?"_

"You go on ahead," he says to Rin. "I'll call Kagura's room." He goes to a phone. "Nobody's answering... Maybe... she's fallen down again, and can't contact me..." He walks to the Research Labs.

_"It's so cold here..."_ he thinks. _"All those dark clouds..."_

xxx

"I've completed the procedure to get you in the hospital," Ren said. "I'll go visit you there. Do you need anything?"

"Thanks, mother, I'm all right. After I stop by the lab, I'll head for the hospital."

Akito entered her room and gasped. The petri dish lies broken on the floor. A large crystal sits beside it, with a figure inside. "The crystal... It's growing this huge!? But how? It looks just like the form of a person...! What on earth..." He moans and doubles over. "It hurts... The number of fits is increasing... Am I starting to lose it...?"

Akito lies in a hospital bed. The spirit floats outside the window. "I was lonely..." Akito sits up. "Who's there? The window's opening?"

She floats out of the crystal she was closed in. "You have gotten the first piece of me," she says. "I am Queen Bandiane. I was named by you."

"You came to meet me...?" says Akito. "I'll probably die soon. I see. I don't worry. My parents died so long ago, and there's no one else who will grieve... I can die in peace. You can take me at any time."

"Lonely... I can somewhat understand your loneliness. I was also alone. All alone for four and a half billion years..."

Kuri sits outside the hospital in the falling snow. _"Akito..."_ he thinks. _"There's nothing I can do for you. But I want to see you..."_

A nurse enters the room. "Akito-san? How are you feeling? If anything's changed..." She sees the spirit over Akito's unconscious body. She screams.

Kuri runs into the room and sees the nurse frozen in crystal by the spirit. "That thing!? That form... Oh no! An enemy!?"

"Who the hell!?" the spirit says.

Kuri attacked melting the room easily.

The spirit cries out. "I'll retreat for now!" She leaves.

Professor Ren rushes into the room. "Kuri!?" She runs to him. He looks up at Kuri. "Kuri?! What's wrong? What happened?"

"Akito was attacked."

"Kuri!?"

Akito opens her eyes. "Mother?"

"Akito!?"

"That crystal..."

"The crystal!?"

"It suddenly appeared from there... Queen Bandiane..."

"Queen Bandiane!?"

Xxx

_"The dark clouds are spreading from the direction of the Infinity School,"_ thinks Kisa.

Cyprine appears outside. "Kisa Sohma," she says. "I've found you."

The glass in the window shatters.

_"Kisa!?" _Kagura and Rin think.

"Heh, you're here, Snow Dancer," Kisa says, attacking with Mugen.

"Kisa!" Kagura calls.

"Kagura! Rin!"

"Carriers of the spirits!" says Cyprine. "The new warriors! You've appeared!"

"Kisa! Kagura! Rin!" The others run in.

"Everyone!?" Kisa says.

"Look!" says Kuri. "It's serious! The whole city... Hail is assaulting the city! All the people are suddenly bloodthirsty!"

Cyrprine unleashes some form of witchcraft making the two groups hungry to kill eachother.

"We will be the ones to kill you three!" Kuri said, under the spell.

"Kuri! What's wrong with—" Kyo realized they were all under the spell. "What have you done to them?!"

"My spell only attacks the depths of the spirit and magnifies the blackness within, their true intentions are exposed and those are to prey on eachother." Cyprine cackles.

Kyo attacked her, and A burst of light flashes. When it's gone, two identical figures smile.

"I am Cyprine," says one.

"And I am Pitol," says the other. "Together we are one."

"She split!?" Kyo thinks.

"Where is the power similar to the Snow Crystal, Cyprine?"

"Together, no one can stop us, Pitol! Not even the innocence! Look!"

"We'll kill you, scum!" Kisa, Kagura and Rin shout.

"Die!" shout the others.

"Everyone!" Kyo calls. "Wake up! Don't fight! Be friends again!" He tried blasting them back.

"Nuisances!" Kuri shouts as she attacks them.

Kyo holds Kuri down.

"Kuri!" Kyo calls. "Yuki! Everyone! Stop it!"

"Damn!" says Yuki.

"Stubborn fools!" Kyo says. "You're still attacking!"

"Heh heh..." says Cyprine. "Ahahaha!"

"Why must we fight!?" Kyo thinks. "Are we all hostile in our souls!? No! Those three always came to save us."

_"We defended the Otherworld from a distance." _

"They fight to defend what's important! Their goal is to fight, just like us. We can't be led astray! Make our spirits one, to fight! We are fighters!"

Kuri's eyes cleared.

Kuri and Kyo join hands.

"Make our spirits one..."

Light glows around them.

The holy chalice appears above them.


	10. Death

All our spirits into one...!"

"The holy chalice is shining!" Rin thinks.

"Kyo!?" says Yuki.

"Everyone...!" Kyo commands in loud voice that rings with power, order and rule.

The five warriors halt.

"Kyo!?"

"Make our spirits one, to fight! We are warriors!"

"Kyo is..."

"Calling us..."

The three objects carried by the spirits glow.

"My talisman," says Kagura. "The mirror..."

"My talisman," says Rin. "The sword..."

"My talisman," says Kisa. "The staff..."

"They've started to resonate!?"

The lid on the chalice opens.

"Power to the Cat..."

"Power..."

The chalice shines as it rises above Kyo.

Kyo and Kurai glowed brightly

All the others glowed as their powers evolved.

"I feel..." Yuki thinks. "Stronger!?"

"Kyo!?" Kagura says. "No, that's... Ultimate Power!?"

"Ultimate Power!?"

"Ultimate Power!?" Cyprine and Ptitol gasp.

Xxx

Akito collapses on her bed, clutching her head.

Bandiane stares into the pool. "Kyo! He powered up!?"

She looks into the sky. "Such grand energy! But the center of the power receives no damage!? I don't believe it! Ultimate Power! What on earth is this power!?"

Akito coughs hard, kneeling on the floor. "My forehead hurts... Like it's splitting... I'm nauseous... It hurts... From my throat, from my forehead, from my whole body, something is trying to get out. It must not get out! It mustn't!"

Her voice and manner changes. "Kyo! That enormous power! What is it!? Does that give you all power!?" Akito stops coughing. Her eyes sparkle. "It's the Ultimate Power," she says.

Xxx

"We won't be led astray any longer!" Kyo shouts. "I won't hesitate anymore."

He attacks.

The bodies of Cyprine and Ptitol are distorted in a flash of light, and vanish.

Xxx

"Damnit!" says Bandiane. "Kyo! My precious servants—defeated! The outsiders must be eliminated quickly. We were supposed to see the start of our new world here with the master. But things are happening like this! You have angered me, Kyo!"

Akito holds her amulet from the string. Her eyes sparkle. The image of Bandiane is projected on the amulet.

"Heh heh," says Akito. "My Queen...and I am the true Queen. The true Princess of Darkness." She holds her head. "My forehead's splitting!" She cries out in pain as she collapses.

Xxx

"I...!? I powered up...!?" Kyo thinks.

"It suddenly came, then vanished. Power from the holy chalice..." Kurai said.

"Ultimate Power!" calls Kagura.

"It was power from everyone..." Kyo thinks. "Devoted to me from the holy chalice."

"The legendary holy chalice!?" thinks Yuki. "Is this the power of the legendary holy chalice!?"

"The talismans gave power to Kyo...!" says Kagura.

"There was this kind of power in our talismans..." says Kisa.

"I don't believe it," Kagura says. "The talismans were to awaken with a key... But like this..."

"Kagura!" says Kisa.

"I asked for all our spirits to become one," says Kyo. "I asked for you to lend me your strength. We can surely work with each other. I want to save everyone. I want to defeat the enemies. We both felt that way. Then with the legendary holy chalice, I truly became the Ultimate Power, along with Kuri. We can be as one like that. So we're the same kind of warriors. We're allies."

"Allies... Ultimate Power..." thinks Kagura. "No matter what we did, the talismans lent their power to Kyo so easily. The talismans are saying to tell Kyo the truth. Tell him the truth, and she won't be able to fight. We're the same soldiers..."

They go to an apartment high in the building. "Rin's place."

"It's all messed up from the attack," says Kyo.

"The window glass is shattered."

"I can't wait to see the bill for the cost of the glass," says Rin. "Plus the cost of redoing the broken furniture... However much it is, it's not enough. The rent here is one million a month."

"One million!?"

"Wh- Why is it so much!?" asks Yuki. "Are your parents paying for it!?"

"Ehehe," Rin says. "Since we have a patron, the price isn't a concern."

She looked at Kagura.

"Kagura..." says Rin. "Kyo. The Ultimate Power. In what we can trace of our memory now, we saw the three talismans activated. It has only happened once before. Do you remember? When the world was destroyed. Then, leaving the territory we were to protect wasn't permitted. From far away, we sat watching over it. From a distance, where we were home, we heard the final cry of the world."

"No, don't talk about that," Kurai says. "It's like... my heart is breaking..."

Kyo holds her.

"What we carry, the strongest weapons, the talismans, are beginning to resonate like we've never seen. We gathered them. Then, the beautifully shining talismans summoned, from the forbidden world, the final warrior, who must not awaken. The warrior of darkness and destruction. Touched by Death's Spirit. Then we knew the end would come. We watched as she slowly brought down her death scythe and the world ended. Our power gave out."

"Death...!"

"The Spirit of Death appears at the moment of destruction. She takes all to nothing. She is the guide to death. When the three talismans are together, they will invoke the key that will call Death. We are the guardians of that key. The time when we gather them, the three talismans, that is the time of Death's awakening. The three talismans must not be able to be brought together. The time when Death awakens... Is the time of the death of this world. The time of the ruin of this world."

"Then these are the three talismans that will lead to ruin," says Yuki.

"But, in my dream," says Kuri, "somebody was calling for the talismans to be gathered. Who was that...?"

"The territories we are to defend are far apart. We were never supposed to meet. We were reincarnated as humans on this planet, and again we met. The talismans were calling out. Invaders from outside. We can't stop anymore. We sensed that. We followed the invaders to their home. We found it, in the center of the cursed area, right under our noses. The enemies were there. Then the warrior of destruction was reborn..."

The face of the warrior is reflected in Kagura's mirror, held by Kisa.

"Oh my god..." Kyo says.

"Is that... Akito?" says Kagura. "Is Akito touched by death!?"

He glares at Kagura.

"Why didn't you tell me?!"

"Death's awakening is near. The child's body is beginning to feel the effects."

"Akito's soul was calling for the talismans!?" thinks Yuki.

"Kyo," Kisa says. "As you know, you have a future. The ruin can't happen here, now. This is an accident. Akito's soul was reincarnated. Somewhere the wheels of fate have gone wrong."

"Why is this happening...?" Yuki asks.

"We don't know."

"But!" Kagura says. "Whatever happens, Death must not be allowed to awaken. Akito _has to live!_"

"What do you plan to do?" asks Yuki.

"Kill her. Then we'll completely seal Death away." Rin said.

"That's..." Kyo says. "You're kidding, right!?"

"We don't know yet whether or not the three talismans will be activated. The talismans are resonating. They sent out the power to call you Kyo. The talismans are full of power. Like the time... Like the time when the world was destroyed. The time when the talismans activate to call Death is near."

"And so you're going to kill her!?" Kuri says. "There has to be another way!"

"If there was, we'd use it," says Kisa. "We don't have long. The child's body... You've seen it, right, Kuri? She was seriously ill from an accident when she was 6 years old. It was a miracle she returned from her coma alive. As she had the best mind, she was the result of her insane mother's abominable work. The child's small body has already been worn out."

"Isn't there any way to save her?" Kyo asks.

"There is only one way her body can be saved. That would be for her to become a soldier with power, and awaken as Death. But we can't let that happen."

"You have no right to cut off Akito's life to seal away Death!" Yuki says.

"So this world can live without following the path to destruction, we will kill the child. After we kill her, we'll defeat the enemies. If we do not, Death will surely awaken and destroy this world. Everything will vanish. Nothing will be left. We might not be able to stop it. But our mission now is to seal Death away before her awakening."

"No!" Kuri shouts. "No! You can't kill her!"

"I thought you'd say that," Kagura says. "So you can't do the mission with me. This is where we part. You may hate us. For you, we may be enemies. Since there is no other way, we will do our duty. We will save the world."

They runs off and disappear in a flash of light.

"Kagura! Rin! Kisa!"

"Akito is Death, who will call the ruin..." thinks Kuri. "Akito...Those deep eyes with a wondrous power. She always looked depressed. Akito..." She runs away.

"Kuri!" Kyo calls.

"It can't happen!" She thinks. "I have to save her! I'm going to Akito's place! She can't be killed!" She climbs over the fence of the research lab. "This time I won't run away. Whatever form she's in, whoever she is, whatever her destiny is. She's my—-!"

Kisa sit above in a tree. "Is that... Kuri!?"

Kuri runs to the door and sees Akito sprawled on the floor.

Akito's eyes open. They sparkle. A gust of wind blows out, shattering the glass of the door.

"What!?" Bandiane thinks.

"That sound!?" thinks Ren.

"Kurai!" Kyo and Yuki call, sensing their friend's fatal danger.

A hand snakes out from Akito, and delved deep in Kurai's chest. It dragged out a blazing silver light—her soul—and dragged it away. Kurai collapses.

"Kurai!" Kyo calls. He runs to Kurai with Yuki.

Akito's eyes glow, and her hair grows out long, all over the floor around her. Her eyes are dead, her skin like rotting flesh, and she held Kurai's soul.

"Kyo!" Yuki calls as he appears with the others.

Akito glares up at them, and they're all forced back.

"That's-!? Is that Akito!?"

"Oh no!" Kyo thinks. "Death!? Has she awakened!? The talismans aren't activating! So that's-! That spirit...it's...something's wrong with it!"

Kyo took a step toward the transformed girl.

Akito smiles as a black star shines on her forehead. "I've got it," she says. "I've got it! Her soul is mine! I've awakened! Heh heh! Ahahahaha!"

Yuki holds the unconscious Kurai in his arms. "Kurai!?"

"Kurai!?" Kyo says. "Her body's cold... Kurai!? She's not breathing!?"


	11. Soul's Power

"I can't do anything," Yuki says. "She's dying."

Kyo gasps. "No... It can't be..."

"Would you leave us?" Yuki asks.

Hatsuharu and Momiji leave.

"Kuri! Kuri!?"

"His body's stiffening..." Kyo says. "And getting cold... Akito... killed her!"

"Her soul has been stolen.", comes the voice of Kagura.

"Kagura!" Kyo says. "Her soul!?"

"The spirit Bandiane have targeted the souls of humans," says Kisa. "They steal spirits. Then they unite the soulless bodies as vessels. The utilization. They convert human bodies into one. Those are Bandiane's creatures!"

"Steal spirits!? Human bodies into one!? Then, Akito... That form... was..."

"It was not the awakening of Death," says Rin. "The three talismans are not yet activating."

"I hadn't thought about this happening," says Kagura. "Akito was long ago utilized by them. That isn't Akito any longer. It's an enemy! When she took Kurai's soul, she was also stealing Kurai's spirit."

"Akito and Kurai..." says Kyo. "What will happen to them!?"

"The spirits of the utilized ones," Kisa says, "live as sustenance. But even if the utilization is a success, they will soon revert to monsters. If that happens... then they cannot be saved. It's impossible after that, whatever form they take living in this world."

"The ones we defeated before," thinks Kyo, "were humans merged with enemies... If they change into monsters soon, they can't be saved...!"

"Akito has already been seized by the enemies," says Rin. "But it will be easy to do. Soon she will suffer and be destroyed. We will kill her before she suffers."

"But...!"

"She has Kurai's spirit and her soul!" she says. "What would you have us do!? If you want Kurai saved, you have to fight and take them back! If we don't kill her, we'll be killed. Even if Death doesn't awaken, destruction will come. Kill or be killed. Which would you choose? We're going. Not just for Kurai, but to save everyone!"

"Right," Kyo thinks. "Unless we save the planet... The enemies I've defeated before... Humans and enemies merged... And Akito, too..."

Yuki looks down at Kurai. "If it keeps going like this," he says. "Kurai's blood not flowing... She really will die. Let's take him to my place."

"There's no time," Kyo thinks. "If we don't hurry and get her spirit back... We won't be able to save Kurai!"

They go to Yuki's apartment.

"Kurai's body and mine are linked," Yuki says. "I'll use my body's life maintenance system to keep Kurai's body alive." He holds Kurai's hand, and it starts to glow.

"But then your body will be burdened..." says Kyo.

"It's all right. Kurai and I are one now. I can at least keep this one body alive. It's no problem, it'll be fine."

Kyo sits by Kurai's bed, tearing up.

"Could you leave us alone for a while?" Yuki asks the others.

They look at Kurai, then leave the room.

"Kurai... I can't choose. Kurai. Akito. The people of this planet. I can't abandon them! I can't choose between them for us. Will it not just lead to ruin? Us... And then the world..."

Kyo feels Kurai's hand. "Yuki's power is spreading," she thinks. "It feels like Kurai's alive. What should I do? What..."

"Kyo."

Yuki looks at him

"Oh," he thinks. He sees the image of a devastated city. A shadowed figure stands atop a ruined pillar. "Again. This vision... "

"We'll get them back, Kyo," he says. "Kurai's spirit, and her soul. We'll do everything we can. Don't lose hope. Hope..."

"That vision..." he thinks. "Is that... the Cat Spirit? Or else, Death?"

Xxx

Kami cuts off a lock of her long, dark hair. "I cut and I cut, it grows back," she says. "Crappy hair. This is limited and inconvenient, being a vessel. I'm uncomfortable in this human body."

Ren rushes into the room with Bandiane. "Kami!" he says as he kneels. "We have been awaiting your arrival. For a long time. We transplanted the egg into my daughter, Akito. Completely undivided, I thought you might not awaken."

Kami grabs her head.

"She's awakening now..." thinks Bandiane.

Kami walks to the stone hall.

"Oh, I've been waiting for this," Bandiane says. "Kami!"

"Great Queen Bandiane!" She raises her hand, and energy flows to Bandiane.

"You've just awakened," Bandiane says, "and you're already bringing power. What power is this!? These souls are the beginning...!"

"Bandiane, one moment. This is not from souls. It's the priestess' spirit. The source of the life of the high priestess. I've finally gotten it. We can keep this great power to ourselves. The soul!" She goes to her room, carrying the brooch. "Wondrous light. Like something dwells inside it. It puts me at ease with its holy brilliance."

_**"Naturally. It's defended by Kurai's strong, powerful spirit."**_

"Who's that!? Is it someone inside of me trying to push out...? It's because of my spirit. It's giving me strength... With this soul, there's nothing for us to fear anymore!"

"Hey, Kami!" Ren says. "We're running out of eggs. The utilization, to steal souls by planting the eggs, is the only way for us to live in this world."

"But, the completion of the master's utilization will become unnecessary. The birth of our new world is close at hand. Heh heh! Ahaha! Close at hand!"

Bandiane stands in the center of a circle on the ground. Smoke surrounds her. A bat flies in. She grabs it in the air and rips out its heart, squeezing the blood into a glass. "Our servants," she says. "Before my warriors are resurrected..." Five figures steam from the glass, taking the shape of those of the zodiac. "I will place a curse on these ones. A curse that will never be lifted... Heh heh heh..."

Xxx

Kyo walks down the street, and sees the others. "Everyone!" she says. "Let's go. To get Kurai's spirit back! To the Academy!"

As they approach the center of the Delta, they see the building overgrown with trees and vines.

"The Academy has gotten like this overnight..."

"It's full of amazing energy," says Momiji. "The air, the plants, the building. The abnormal power is making everything go mad."

"The power is forming into a dome shape over the Infinity zone," says Hatsharu. "It looks just like an omega shape."

"Let's go," says Momiji.

"Kisa, Kagura, Rin," thinks Aang. "Am I choosing the wrong path...? If I do this, will we not be able to fight together?"

"Year of the Cat..." Rin thinks. "It's regrettable, but I will put Kurai to death. To death..."

"Heh heh... They're here. The carriers of the powerful light. Along with the Cat." A door appears though the trees.

"An entrance opened!?" They walk into the building.

The two identical women bow. "Greetings. Welcome to the Infinite Labyrinth."

"Cyprine!? Ptitol!?"

Xxx

Momiji sees darkness all around him. "What the-!? Aang!? Where is everyone!?" He sees a sign in the hallway that says, "Etiquette Class." He rushes into the room.

"How impolite," says Eudial. "As instructor of manners and etiquette at the Infinity School, Arimura Yuuko, I'll teach you a lesson."

"Eudial!?" Momiji thinks. "But I defeated her before!" The door slams shut behind him. "Oh no! I don't have time to fight you!"

"Too bad! I am Eudial, warrior of the flame! You have been selected as my match!" She jumps up and kicks Momiji down.

Sokka gets to his knees, breathing hard.

"You really don't want to fight?" Eudial asks. "I see. You don't have the fighting spirit. You won't only fight for Kyo. Your whole body is saying you want to know etiquette and military arts."

Xxx

"Kyo!?" calls Hatsuharu. "Everyone!? Hey! Where are you!?" She turns a corner and enters a room full of plants. "This is-!"

"Welcome, to the Infinity botanical garden. I am its caretaker, Teruno Ruru."

"You!? Tellu!?"

Tellu sits Hatsuharu down. "You don't need to fight today. Okay?"

"Wow!" Hatsuharu says. "It's full of roses! La France, the first breed of hybrid T! These are soleil dolls!" She picks a flower up. "My heart's softening..." she thinks. "What was I coming here to do... I'm so tired... Fighting is absurd... I want to stay here forever... It's my dream. To spend a carefree lifetime in a rose garden, with someone I love..."

Xxx

"Everyone!?" Kyo calls. "Oh no! Have we been split apart!? Have we fallen into enemy hands!? That was careless. Where is this!? Everyone...?"

The other two appear before her, scratched and bruised.

"Momiji! Haru!" The figures begin to melt.

"It's your fault we're coming apart," they say. "We won't fight anymore..." They jump at Kyo, covering him in melted goop.

Akito appears behind him. "It's your fault, Kyo." She grabs Kyo around the throat.

"Ow! You're... hurting me... Akito...!?"

"We'll help you too, Akito," says Kagura.

"We think you're an annoyance, Kyo!" says Kisa.

"Die!" Says Rin.

"Kagura! Kisa! Rin!"

"I want to be free, Kyo!" says Kurai. "I'll kill Akito! And then Kyo! You too!"

"Kurai!"

Xxx

Yuki jumps up from her chair beside Kurai. "Kyo!? He's being bewitched! Kyo!"

Xxx

"No! I can't be bewitched! You're hallucinations! Everyone!" Light flashes around him, and he's alone. "Everyone!?"

"Kyo!" says Kagura. She shows him her mirror. It shows a tall, thick column, holding the bodies of Momiji and Haru.

"We'll break through the barrier!" Kisa says and snaps the barrier with her mirror's power. They rush inside to the column and free the others.

"Yes..." Kyo thinks. "It really is the same feeling. They couldn't abandon us. Together... I wanted to fight. We'll join our powers to fight. Then if my power becomes strong... Even the impossible can approach possibility."

They form a circle, putting their hands in the center. Light begins to glow.

Kyo began to glow.

"That light!" thinks Bandiane.

"Cat boy!" Rin calls. "Up! The president's office!" They go up to the 56th floor of the building, and run into the office, where Bandiane is. Five figurines are on a table. "Those are-! Wax dolls shaped like us!?"

"You've undone the finest work of Queen Bandiane," Bandiane says. "You won't bother us anymore!" She mutates into a giant monster.

"A monster!"

"I'll save this planet!" Kyo shouts and attacks.

The monster vanishes in a swirl of light. The amulet drops to the floor and shatters.

"Whatever delusions fill this labyrinth," Kyo says, "I won't give up hope! Let's search! For Akito!"

"She's found her way to this fortress," thinks Kami. "She even blew away Queen Bandiane. Although...she was no true Queen of Darkness. That title belongs to me! Cat! The time has come. The time for this world to be our sacred land. There's no longer anything for us to fear." Her eyes sparkle. "With the soul of the priestess..." Power flows out of the crystal in her hands, into her body.

xxx

Kurai's body begins to glow.

"Kurai!?" Yuki says.

xxx

"Ohh... Strength! From deep in my body, I'm filling with it! As soon as I took it in, my insides were overflowing! This is the power of the priestess' soul! Oh, I can feel it! The power! The light of life similar to Death itself! It's been opened! So that is the power of the priestess!"

At that moment a pair of silvery blue eyes opened deep within the soul of the demonic Kami.

Akito was waking up—and she wasn't going to allow Kurai to die.


	12. Protection

Kurai's body glows.

"Kurai!?" Yuki says. "This light!? What's happening!?"

Her eyes open.

"Heh heh heh!" Kami says. "More power! Open up more power!"

Kurai's body begins to shake. "Kurai!?"

"No!" Akito says. "I have to hold it in... The power must not be increased further! The power must not be opened! Kurai's power cannot be sent out easily to you!"

Kami cries out. "My forehead! My forehead is splitting! It's scorching! Ohhh... Somebody is controlling my body from inside me! I have to endure a little more. My Queen. If I complete the utilization, I won't have such an inconvenient body... I'll get rid of it. I'll rule this puny world!"

"That can't happen!"

Kurai floats through the air. "Where is this!? It's dark, and scary. Why am I here?Something's been coming after me! I'm scared! Somebody help me!"

"Kurai-chan..." Akito calls.

"Huh?" Kurai looks around and sees a shining crystal. "Oh. My power!" She floats down to get it. "Great. I was worried when I didn't have it. Without it my body couldn't hold up. It's a part of my body."

"That's right. It is of one mind with you and your heart. You can't be away from it. And you shouldn't easily show it to people. Protect your spirit softly."

"Mother...? No, it's not like in mother's arms. Cool, big, wide... I feel at ease."

"It's all right," Akito says, holding her. "I'll give you protection. I won't let them get your beautiful, pure spirit, and the innocence. I'll be sure to save you."

"The power has weakened!?" says Kami. It is because Kurai has control over it again.

"Kurai!?" says Yuki. "He convulsions stopped!? Her hand... is warm. Is somebody... protecting Kurai spirit!?"

xxx

The others are all inside the Main House now.

"Lots of buildings under construction..." Kyo said. "Like ruins hiding black monsters... Ruins... That image of ruins... I don't want to think that's a vision of the future! I want to defeat these enemies, whose form we can't see, quickly. I want to live without feeling this anxiety, and return to the peace of before! Unless we hurry and rescue Kurai-chan, Kanda's spirit, and his flame... The time of Death's awakening... The time of the end of the world... Can we return to the peace of before...? Kurai...! Akito..."

"No good," says Haru, his eyes looking out. "I can't get a read on the internal structure or their coordinates. And I can't find any life signs at all..."

"A lot of strong power is accumulating in the Infinity zone," says Kisa. "It has a strong influence. Now this land is becoming chaotic."

"Let's go to the basement," Kagura says. "The labs are concentrated in the basement. We might be able to encounter the others."

"Let's divide into two groups," says Haru. "While we investigate the floors one by one, down from this one, the 56th, you go down to the bottom. Kyo, take the elevator to the basement with Kagura and Kisa. I'll go with Rin."

"Two groups..." Kyo thinks.

Haru smiles. "Be careful." He leaves with Rin

"Haru, Rin..." Haru calls faintly.

"Let's go," Kagura says. "To the basement." They get in the elevator.

"Heh heh heh," Ren says, working in the lab. "Seems they've boarded the elevator. A death sentence. The pretty ones who carry the lights of the planets' protection. The time has come! The grand occasion of the fruits of my long-awaited dream! My life-work. The superhuman. Hundreds of times a human's brains and physical strength. Tens of times longer a lifespan. Just a little more genetic operation and medicine administration. Then it will be possible to make the cyborg. I'm a genius. They'll be sorry they outcast me. For my research, I've chosen this Omega Area. The heavens gave me another chance since the accident. After the accident, I greatly reconstructed Akito's body. It was the birth of the fruit of my dream, the superhuman. During that biggest experiment..."

A blast strikes the building.

"Professor!" Bandia calls. "Lightning!" A bolt hits her.

"Bandia!"

"They descended... Carrying eggs from another world. God chose me. I made a blunder in Kurai's great reconstruction. I found a chance to use an egg of the utilization. I produced beautiful, perfect beings. Next, our loving monster! I won't miss making the failures for us, the rulers of the Black Dream hole. My experiments are for you. If our master's utilization is completed, we can survive completely. But I will continue the utilization by all means! I will get more perfect ones like me! A human has been united with foreign living things. I am clearly the inventor of the new creation, the superhuman. I am its god!"

"Mother..." Akito thinks.

The elevator descends.

"I- I'm nauseous..." Kyo says.

"You okay, Kyo?" Kagura asks. "Guess even you can't go against gravity on an elevator."

"It's picking up speed," Kyo thinks. "Just like... I'm falling endlessly to hell... Scary..."

"I wonder if Haru and Rin are okay," Kyo says.

"Did you want to go with them?" asks Kisa. "They should be fine."

"Aren't you scared? Never mind! Being trapped in this building of ghosts and this never-ending elevator is getting to me. From here on, we'd fight the big enemy. Or so I thought. I feel like I'm all alone. It's scary. I just feel a bad premonition coming..."

"Don't call this solitude," Kagura says. "Solitude extends more, infinitely. Like the places where we were."

"Tell me," Kyo says. "What kind of places were you at, Kagura?"

"Deserted places. Where there's nobody. Completely alone. No one will come to help you. Lonely places."

"But, in any time," says Kisa. "we looked back at you. That was our only ray of light."

"Yes," says Kagura. "When that light shined, it brought us strength. There was nothing we couldn't do."

"Whenever we were about to give up," says Kisa, "that light always led us on."

"This is taking long," Kagura says. "Too long."

"I'm worried about the others," says Kisa.

The elevator shakes around. The door opens, and they're tossed out of it. They fall through the darkness.

"Kyo!"

"Kagura! Kisa!" Kyo calls. He loses sight of them. "Darkness everywhere. I'm scared...! Kagura! Kisa! I can't hear their voices! Where are they!? Rin! Haru! I'm worried. We shouldn't have separated back there. Kurai, Akito! Without everyone, I can't do anything. What should I do!? All alone here is the darkness. What can I do!?"

"That was our only ray of light."

"When that light shined, it brought us strength. There was nothing we couldn't do."

"Whenever we were about to give up, that light always led us on."

Kyo sees a point of light high above.

"Always... Everyone is shining on me, leading me... When I'm about to be crushed, I always remember. I'm carrying a light in my heart too. That's the spirit of all of us, in one. Just believe. For the moment that light shines down...!"

He raises his arm to the light.

"With the strength given to me by everyone, I will shine through the darkness and make it light! I won't yield to any darkness or delusions!"

He attacked.

Kyo and Kisa and Kagura crash to the bottom of the elevator. The door opens.

"Welcome to my lab," Ren says. "I've been looking forward to this. Heh heh. My pretty monsters are feeling hungry."

The monsters chase after Kyo.

Kagura and Kisa attacked with their powers, and The monster tear apart.

"Heh heh heh! Still more! I can make any amount of monsters! Ahahaha!"

"Stop it!" Kyo says. "We don't want to fight you here. Where's Akito!?"

"Akito? Formerly my daughter. She's at the holy sanctuary now, devoting the light similar to the Crystal Points, the power of Kurai, to our Queen!"

"Queen!?"

"The Queen's quickening has finally begun! It's too bad, but this place will be your graveyard! You will be my first victims! I am Gelm!" He mutates into a large monster.

"A monster!?"

"I am not like the monster," he says. "I am a superhuman! The union of human and outside life! Die!" A blast of light shoots out. The soldiers jump away.

"Until seconds ago, this was Akito's mother!" Kyo thinks. He narrowly dodges an attack.

"This isn't a human anymore!" Kagura says. "It's a monster! An enemy!"

She attacked; The monster knocks her away.

"Kagura!" Kyo calls. He attacked.

The monster is ripped apart in a burst of light. The poor man's soul had been utilized long ago, along with Bandia's. "Goodbye, Mother..."

"Who's that!?" Kyo says. "It... seemed like someone was there..."

The ground begins to shake.

"Something's coming!" Kagura says.

She used her powers and a sphere of light forms around them.

"What's that!?" Kyo says. "Something's crashing out through the ceiling!? They're up there! Haru! Rin!"

"Is something coming from below!?" Haru says.

The floor breaks apart as light blasts through it. The two are thrown into the air.

They float up through the hole in the ceiling, outside. The sky above is swirling with colors.

"The sky!?"

They see a glass room at the building's entrance.

"Something's inside the building! That's...!"

Kami stares at them with a demonic grin. "Heh heh heh."

"That's... Akito!?"


	13. Death and Life

Kyo stands atop a pillar in the crescent moon's light.

"That light always led us on..."

"Something strange is happening to the sky!?" Kagura says.

"Akito!?" Kyo calls. "No, that form is... A monster!?"

The earth rips open in front of the building, and the building is torn apart. It collapses in the center of the Delta.

"The Main House building!"

The reflecting pool soars into the air, carrying four balls of light with it. Two bodies are held inside.

"That's...!? Haru!" Kyo flies after them. "Haru!" As he approaches, he's knocked away. "I can't get near it! Everyone!?"

"Look!" Kagura says. "That...!? Something's covering the sea! That's...!?"

"We interrupt this for a national emergency broadcast!" the TV reporter says. "This is an emergency warning announcement! First class martial law has been officially declared in the London coast area! A mysterious giant explosion is occurring in the coast area! The center of the Delta is also experiencing a severe earthquake of unknown magnitude. Martial law has been declared! Residents should take refuge at once..."

"Heh heh heh..." says Kami. "The time has come. Now with the energy that's been accumulated, Queen Bandiane will assimilate this planet. The time of the utilization!"

"Assimilate this planet!?"

"When the utilization is completed, this land will be one with Queen Bandiane. It will become a Black Hole. This planet will become our mother world! Heh heh heh! Ahahahaha!"

Kagura looks in her mirror, then toward the sea.

"Kagura!?"

"The sea is subsiding all at once," Rin thinks. "Is it foreboding a tidal wave!?"

"The sky is looking strange," thinks Kisa. "Is a storm coming? Or else, is something coming through the space...?"

"If things go like this, there will be a huge earthquake," thinks Kagura.

Kisa, Kagura, and Rin jumped into the air.

"Kisa! Kagura! Rin!" Kyo calls.

"I must protect this land."

She landed on top of a building in the corner of the Delta.

Kisa raised her weapon. "This planet where we were born."

Kagura raised her weapon. "I will defend this world!"

Rin cried. "That is my mission!"

A beam of light shot into the sky, meeting above the Main House.

"Making a force field?" Kami says. "Useless."

"Kagura! Kisa! Rin!" Kyo calls.

"When the master's utilization is completed, it will no longer be necessary for me to stay inside a human body!" She bends over. "I can't work freely!? I can't get out!"

"You won't escape!"

"Who's that!?"

"This body is still mine," Akito says. "You won't get out of it! I won't let you be free!"

"I thought you has disappeared near the food inside me. But you're still living, stubbornly. Your tiny soul! I took in the Exorcist's Innocence and powered up. Now I have no reason to control you. I will cast off this body and break it to pieces!"

"You can tear it to pieces! It will scatter apart! But Kurai's spirit, and his Innocence. Whatever happens, I'll protect them!"

"Impudent humans! Nobody will stop me!"

Kyo attacked.

Kami raises her arm, and Kyo is knocked back.

"From this power," she says, "you can't take my power! Power! More power!" She looks up at the pool in the air. "The zodiac's souls!"

"Haru!"

The light left his body, and he collapsed in the empty pool.

Kyo flew up to them. "Everyone! Hold on!"

Kami licks her lips.

"Oh no!" Kyo says. "Did she steal their spirits!? No...!"

Akito sees Haru body floating in space. She goes over and clutches ball of light.

"Troublesome worms!" Kami says. "Bring me souls!" Akito cries out in pain.

"With the power of my body, I might be able to protect the zodiac spirits, and the spirits of Kurai and Haru...! My spirit was seized by them. It is my death... But why is this all I can do? My dad is gone... I have nothing anymore... But why do I still have power? If I'm this strong... Inside of me, I feel another, bigger me. That me is saying to keep life, and save everyone. All I can do is to take these two spirits, and the zodiac spirits, and rescue them from here!"

A ball of light bursts out of Kami. "Damn!" she says. "The souls are being taken away! But, now I am free!"

Kyo looks up. "That white light..."

Two lights come out of it, and go into the body of Haru. They slowly open their eyes.

"Everyone!" Kyo says. He faintly sees Akito watching her, smiling. Akito turns into a ball of light and flies away.

"Akito!"

xxx

Kurai opens her eyes. She gets up and feels Kand's forehead. "I dozed off. Kurai..."

Akito's spirit sits in the open window.

"Who are you!?" Kurai says.

Kurai's soul enters her body.

Kurai opens her eyes.

"Kurai!"

"Kurai..." Yuki sits up, and sees the spirit.

"Good."

"Akito!?"

"I was able to save you, Kurai. I'm happy. It's good. It's strange. It must have been fate that we met."

"I thought that too," Kurai says. They hold hands. "Akito..."

Kami mutates into a large monster.

Akito screams.

"Akito!?"

"It's good we met. I'm glad we became friends, Kurai. Thank you. Goodbye."

Her spirit fades away. "Akito!?"

Xxx

"Akito...?" Yuki thinks.

"This... This sad fate..." thinks Kurai. He starts to cry. "Akito... There are people who must live this fate..."

Kurai's fist tightens. "Kurai," he says. "Can you fight with me, to help Kyo?"

Kurai looks up. "I can fight. I won't cry anymore. I am a priestess too. With the life Akito brought back to me, I'll fight with all my might!" She clutches her weapon. She wipes her eyes. "Kurai! You gave me strength. Thank you! We might not have power like Kyo, but let's go fight together!" He runs out of the room.

"Amazing," Kurai thinks. "Wondrous, full of power. It's more like I've been given strength from Kurai. And Akito's power too. Kyo! I'll be there soon!"

The monster roars as it rises over the Black Order

"Kyo!" Haru says. "That thing! What is it!? It looks strange. It seems like it's in pain!"

The monster screams as it approaches them.

"Oh no!"

Kurai attacked with her power.

The monster falls back.

"Kurai!"

"Kurai!" Kyo says. "How...?"

"Akito saved me," he says. "She gave her life, and protected me."

"Akito gave her life..." Kyo thinks. "She's gone... Akito..."

"What are you doing!" Kurai calls. "Quickly! Activate your power!"

"Kurai!"

"If you don't act, this planet will be eaten away by that thing! Kagura is using a huge amount of power to sustain that force field. Hurry and defeat it!"

"Kyo!" the others say.

"Yes," Kyo thinks. "I must protect it. I must save this planet!"

Kyo activated his power.

"Now join our power together!"


	14. Finale

Kurai covers Kyo as explosions rip apart the city. Buildings collapse to the ground.

"Everyone... Everyone... Disappearing." The sea crashes around them. "The world... is ending..."

Kurai drops to her knees, tears in his eyes.. "Akito... Akito...! Only you kept me alive... And I couldn't protect you...!"

"Destroyer of Time..." Haru says.

"Damn," Yuki says. "Can't we do anything!? Everything will be destroyed. I... I just wanted to protect that girl! That was all!"

"Death...!" Kagura says.

A point of light appears in the center of the Black Order. It rises up into the air, clearing everything away. A figure lies inside the sphere of light.

"The Cat...!" Rin calls. "Ultimate Power!?"

Kyo opens his eyes, eyes glowing.

The others all look up.

"Ultimate Power!" Kurai says.

Kyo looks at himself. "I...?"

"Attack! Attack!" the monster says. "To this world! Reduced to being drawn by gravity to the darkness of the graveyard! Our home of death!"

"It's beautiful," says Akito. "The suffering of the moment of destruction. Now! Right away! The guide to death will lead to the world of silence and nothingness!"

"Death!?" Kyo says. "Like this, we'll be drawn to outer space together!"

"Oh no!" the others think. "Together!?"

"I don't feel despair," Akito says. "Along with death, there is always hope and rebirth. You will cause that, Avatar Kyo.", indicating that although Akito can bring death and destruction, Kyo is the one who can bring back life and rebirth.

"Death...!"

"Cat, because you opened up the power of the Ultimate, you can save this planet. For my rebirth, I eliminate death and destruction. Soon the world will be this chosen land. The sacred power is on your side. Haru! Forever shut the passage to the other world!"

"Akito!"

"Hurry!"

"My power!" Kisa says. " Give me power! Close the door of the broken law!"

The space-time door appears, sucking in energy.

Death smiles as she slowly fades into it. The door closes.

"Akito!" Rin yells.

It vanishes.

Kyo stares into the sky.

"Along with death... Hope and rebirth begin."

He raised his hands into the air. Buildings are reconstructed, and the people wake up.

"The city..." Kisa says. "The people are being resurrected!"

"Kyo...?"

Kyo stands atop a devastated pillar in the center of the ruined building, holding up his hands.

"The messiah..." Kurai says. "So it was you... Kyo."

They hear a cry from below. "Someone is" Rin runs to the sound. He finds Kurai lying there naked, a cloth over her.

"Akito?" Rin says.

"She was reincarnated...?" says Kagura.

"We will take care of her." Rin put her jacket on her and helped her up.

"Akito! Kagura! Kisa! Rin!" Kyo says.

"Kyo...!"

"We'll be going," Rin says. "Since we've been given a new mission. Since you're important."

"You're going?" Kurai says. "Where?"

"We'll see," Akito says. "Maybe far away. Maybe close."

"Will we see you again?"

"Yes, of course," Rin says. "Kurai. We're allies. We'll certainly meet again."

"Right," says Akito. "We're allies. We'll meet again soon. For sure. Kyo, Kurai, Haru, Yuki... We love you. We will return to you again." She hands them her mirror. "A sign of our promise."

"Akito...!" Kurai says.

"Look in this mirror. Until we meet again, become a stronger, stronger person."

The exorcists disappear with the baby. "Akito! Kisa! Kagura! Rin!" Kyo calls.

Kyo and Kurai run to the place where Rin lives. They go up to his room. "Rin!?" They burst through the door, and see the room empty.

The other two find the same thing at Kagura's condo. They all hear a noise outside, and rush to the patio decks.

The two are flying of..

"We will surely meet again. Kagura. Kisa. Rin. And Akito. Again, someday... Surely!"


End file.
